May 2011

I remember, back in the day (way before feed readers and Facebook ruled the interwebz) when my kids were smaller (i.e. NOT able to finish stuff ordered off the children's menu) how cute it was when they'd start planning their NEXT birthdays...the day AFTER...their birthdays. Then, they got bigger, we started paying full price at the movie theaters and, well, thank goodness for Netflix. Then, all of the sudden, we were celebrating birthweeks, evidenced by my having to clean the house, more than usual and, well, thank goodness our local super, duper, shop until you drop has an awesome bakery department, too. Did I mention, my 3 oldest celebrate their birthdays in November, December and January, respectively, in birth order and...SURE...I could tell you, that...YES...we totally planned it that way...OF COURSE...I am still THAT organized (snort!) but, most of you would probably know I'd be lying, right? As my kids...
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My youngest daughter and I were fighting over radio stations on the way to school, this morning (I'm a little oldies and she's a little bit, you know, LOUD) when it occurred to me that we moved into our starter home, which happens to be THIS house, on Memorial Day weekend...in 1993! "Wow, that means, you've been walking the halls for 18 years!" Okay, so it's STILL a 7 room house and it's not like we have THAT many halls to begin with. Actually, only 1, on the way to the bathroom, in front of the girls' room and, well, it can get REAL scary, walking down there! Then, I got to thinking about it some more (stupid traffic lights) and, well, she was ABSOLUTELY right. Although, it's more like I wander, as I wonder, after 18 years, why I STILL can't remember where in the heck I put stuff....
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Glen is 12, going on boyteen and, being raised in a house, filled with females, he's grown used to navigating through a raging sea of hormones. Also, rooting through an endless supply of feminine products, because, well, there has GOT to be a roll of toilet paper, in there, somewhere, DAGNABIT! On the other hand, our house seems to be a breeding ground for random pieces of bar soap and I guess we could always recycle them into something fun and useful...but...EWWWW! Aaaanyway, all bathroom issues aside (you're welcome!) my son remains light-hearted about growing up in a testosterone-ly-challenged environment...mostly. Although, I do make a point of reminding him, that he is the ONLY person, in this house, who does NOT have to share a bedroom (doorless, as it is) with anyone. So, I was upstairs helping my son put away his summer clothes (wishful thinking, I know) the majority...
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Yesterday, we attended an art show, held at a local bank, supporting art in schools, featuring two of Holly's pieces. You can't really tell from my cell phone, however the majority of this pen and ink drawing is stippled, with tiny little dots. I remember, because I can still hear the, "...dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot..." of her tapping the pen well into the night. The same with this one,"...dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot..." which explains the permanent dent in the poor girl's right index finger. This piece, however, is still her favorite, she says, because it's the first, of many she's created (dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot) taking inspiration from her own life, rather than that of another artist. It's her vision...of herself...and, well, my inner-17-year-old totally relates to the juggling act going on...
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Our oldest is a junior (I know, still not sure how THAT happened) so, my husband, Garth (not his real name) and I attended a financial aid workshop at the high school, last night. Because, you know, she's a junior, in high school and, well, this whole, "Holy Hannah Montana, I got a junior in high school," thing really didn't seem like such a big deal...when she was in kindergarten. Long story, short (as of now, anyway) and 6 hand-written pages worth of notes, later (old school, I know) our best takeaway from the night? We can now continue to talk about our kids, continuing their education, without throwing up. Good thing, too, seeing as we'll be very, very busy, filling out paperwork, for the next 16 years. Yes, I know, we have 4 kids and, yeah, this is EXACTLY the sort of stuff expert-types tell us we should have...you...
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I sat down at my desk this morning and, well, you ever have one of those days when your mental to do list is about a mile long (closer to two, even) but, you don't EVEN bother taking the time to find a pen (that works, I mean) because, well, you can't even see the top of your desk, for one thing, until you shuffle some papers around, looking for something to write on (IF you had a pen) only to expose a couple of coffee stains and maybe even a chocolate wrapper (or, twenty) speaking of which, you could probably use another cup of coffee (or, chocolate) right about now, right? Go ahead, I'll wait. Better? Good. What was I saying? Oh yeah, so, the weekend was a blur of errands and, well, today, I'm fighting a monster case of procrastination. Or, what I've come to call...Frankenmonday. [shiver] Aaaaand,...
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